On This Date in Campus Freedom: Professor Dorian Abbot Gives Speech at Princeton after MIT Disinvitation

In September 2021, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences disinvited University of Chicago Associate Professor of Geophysics Dorian Abbot from delivering the prestigious John Carlson Lecture on October 21 of that year. Dr. Abbot cowrote a Newsweek op-ed that proposed prioritizing merit, fairness, and equality in college admissions over diversity, equity, and inclusion. Soon after the piece was published, a Twitter mob branded Professor Abbot as a racist and urged MIT to rescind its invitation.

The MIT administration made the wrong call here. Dr. Abbot was invited on the basis of his novel theories about the climates of exoplanets, which fulfilled the John Carlson Lecture’s aim to communicate “exciting new results in climate science to the general public.” His opinions about college admissions were fully protected by academic freedom and had no bearing on his qualifications to deliver the lecture.

MIT’s loss became Princeton’s gain. Robert George, director of Princeton’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, jumped at the chance to host Professor Abbot’s presentation on October 21, 2021, calling MIT’s decision “chilling to academic freedom and free speech.” Many students from outside geophysics and planetary sciences attended the lecture, eager to hear from a professor whose views are considered out of bounds at America’s leading university for science, mathematics, and engineering.

When Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences disinvited Dorian Abbot, Princeton’s Robert George jumped at the chance to host Professor Abbot’s presentation on October 21, 2021, calling MIT’s decision “chilling to academic freedom and free speech.”